Name: Emily Vander
Race: [Kitsune]
Age: 22
Sex: Female
Level: 20
Class: [Journeyman Cybermage]
Sub Classes: [Apprentice Tailor]
Devotion(s): Kurayami
Title(s): [Giant Slayer]
Health: 503
Stamina: 525
Mana: 800
Skills: [Telecommunications Specialist],[Kurayami's Voice],[Cybernetic Eye],[Apprentice Hand to Hand],[Journeyman Cybermagic]
Equipment: [Rare Pendant of Holding],[Epic Cybernetic Lantern Staff],[Epic Warden Leather Pants],[Epic Warden Leather Vest],[Epic Warden Leather Gloves],[Epic Warden Leather Top],[Epic Warden Leather Shoes],[Epic Warden Leather Satchel of Holding]
Emily stared at her sheet in the dim light of the early morning. She was amazed by her growth, but she was more surprised at how well she'd slept. Her and Cattleya had discussed rotating who sleeps, but Cattleya had never woken Emily up. Moreover, the kitsune had slept without nightmares for once.
"Why didn't you wake me?"
The cat girl smiled without an ounce of exhaustion in her face. "I thought sleep would do wonders for you, Miss Vander."
Emily opened and closed her mouth. She wanted to protest, but it would do nothing but delay them. Instead, she assisted Cattleya in placing the saddlebags on Big Greenie's back.
Before long, they were back on the swaying dinosaur, but even that was a bit more tolerable than the previous day. Emily narrowed her eyes towards the cat girl's back. She seemed so vulnerable. The kitsune wondered what kind of life Cattleya had to live to be so trusting of her.
Maybe I should ask? Or I should leave her alone.
///
Tossing. Turning. Thrashing.
Cattleya stared down at Emily in her sleeping back. The second twilight had come and with it, the kitsune slept restlessly. What kind of experiences have you had, Miss Emily Vander?
One of Cattleya's hands reached down and pressed against the kitsune's forehead. The other one felt Emily's prosthetic arm. Cattleya channeled mana into her fingertips. I don't know how much this will help you, but a peaceful sleep is better for your mind.
White magic seeped into Emily's forehead before the girl could blink her eyes open. It calmed the restless woman. Her ears stopped twitching, and her body became more comfortable in the small cocoon. Someone that had saved the master's son should not suffer so. May your night be gentle, Miss Vander.
Scratching. Clawing. Digging into herself.
Cattleya remembered a time when she was the same, a small nekonian with no recollection of her parents. She couldn't remember what happened, but her dreams were full of tragedy.
In an alleyway of the human capital, Weh, she made her home. The little girl woke against a stone wall, hearing the clomping of the early morning edmontos walking along the road ways. An orphan in this part of the city was uncommon, and an orphan that wasn't a human was practically unthinkable.
Scars from her poor night of rest were reopened, and blood dripped from her arm. She turned it over and looked at the dripping wound. Her other hand caught the blood before it could drip along the gravel. As if by instinct, mana started channeling in that same hand catching the blood.
White light floated upwards and crept into the gash made by herself in her sleep. A small smile graced the little Cattleya's face as the injury started closing itself, the blood on her hand evaporating.
Ragged linens clung to her malnourished frame, and she left the sanctity of her alleyway. The light of the morning was nearly blinding to her tired eyes. Despite the size of the buildings, the sun still had a way of bearing into her.
Cattleya's tail drooped behind, and she made her way towards the vendors, attempting to see if any of them would be kind enough to donate to her empty stomach. Sometimes they said yes. Other times they made her participate in a job, and some flat out refused her.
Either way, she had no animosity towards them. The little girl had a glimmer of understanding. This is what life is like.
A man stood behind a wooden stand with vegetables sitting inside of crates. Cattleya's nose picked up on their freshness, and she strolled up to the counter. Indeed, it was a person she'd seen before. John?
Her green eyes looked up on him with a certain emptiness in them. "Sir, do you have food for me today?"
John looked down at her and crossed his arms over his leather tunic. "I don't mind giving you food, cat. However, you will need to do a bit of work."
Cattleya swallowed, the feeling of a rock sinking into her stomach. "Yes, sir."
John smiled and reached out towards his stand. He grabbed a large, leafy green vegetable and handed it to Cattleya. "This is the upfront payment. When you're done, you will get a piece of meat."
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
Cattleya nodded and held onto the spherical green. She bit into it, and chewed down on the crunchy bits. A bit of water combined to make it slightly juicy. It didn't take her long to finish it in her hunger, but her stomach was still longing for more sustenance.
John pointed down to small baskets next to his stand. Each of them held small pieces of long blue or white cloth. "Take these to the church, and they will give you a piece of meat for the effort."
"Yes, sir," she said, grabbing onto the wicker basket's handle.
It wasn't the first time she'd had to deliver supplies to the church. Usually, it was small food items that her small body could carry. Other times, it was flowers from one of the elderly ladies selling on the street.
Even if she wrinkled her brow while observing the strange ribbons, she would never ask why. Her survival and the filling of her hunger was much more valuable. As she rounded a corner with the basket, she felt something hard hit her elbow.
She looked down, listening to the rock clatter against the surface of the pebbled street. It wasn't hard to find the boy who'd thrown it. He ran the moment she turned her head, fleeing into a shop his parents owned.
Cattleya winced from the pain, but fixing it was easy enough. Even with both hands on her basket, the mana flowed into the scrape on her elbow. White light shone faintly in the surroundings. In a way, her heart was happy that this gift was hard to see for most people. If they weren't paying attention, they could simply walk past her without batting an eye.
Magic was not something cats were known for. That was what a stall owner had told her when she asked about magic. Her tribe was said to be barbaric, which often made her wonder why the humans had let her reside here. Why not simply kill her in the streets? It would have made one less mouth people had to feed.
The answer became more obvious as she reached the church. Simple statues of their god rested outside of both doors. The stone structure was magnificent in design but not so grand in size. It sported a double-door entrance with brass handles. Glass murals made up the sides, and there were large plant carriers surrounding it all over.
Each statue had a basin beneath it, and the human god looked down into his basin, holding his arms out above it. She was told that it symbolized the gift of life. Each of those basins represented the world, and their god was giving life. That's why, every morning the priests and priestesses would fill the basins with fresh flowers.
A colorful array of them rested at the bottom. This practice was a display of their faith. They gave him a gift of flowers for their lives.
Maybe this act of giving is why they tolerated someone like Cattleya? Though, in her heart, she was almost certain that a human must have killed her parents. Otherwise, how would she have ended up here?
The door was opened before she could press on it. A woman from inside pulled on the handle and smiled down at the cat girl.
She was covered with a white dress that had a brown belt wrapping around her midsection. A golden star sat on the center of it, and she wore a white headdress, the veil flowing thinly over her face.
"Good morning, Cattleya. Are you here for the ceremony?"
Cattleya shook her head and hoisted the basket slightly. "A delivery, Priestess."
"Nonsense, you're an attendant today," the woman said, "otherwise, why do you carry the ribbons?"
Cattleya swallowed nervously and allowed the woman to grab the basket from her small hands. "Priestess...I am not good for ceremony."
The priestess looked down solemnly at the girl but ultimately she gave a small nod. She had Cattleya wait at the entrance while she fetched some fresh meat.
Cattleya's mouth watered when she finally received it. Her hands held a juicy piece of warm, white meat. It was such a rare treat for her to receive any meat, and when she did, it was most often dried pieces of jerky. She sank her teeth into it and felt a rare bliss traveling throughout her small frame.
She walked down the street, taking small bites, and savoring each one.
Cattleya fell onto her knees, dropping the piece of meat straight onto the dirty road. Her heart sank. No, the truth was she hadn't fallen at all. An outstretched leg had tripped her.
The same boy stood above her with a grin, glancing between her outstretched hand and the fallen dirty piece of animal flesh. "You poor, stupid cat. I can't believe they are feeding you meat now. And on this day of all times."
Cattleya gritted her teeth and stood up with her head down. "I am sorry, young master."
"You should be. The Day of Giving was not meant for savages."
Her small nod acknowledged what he said, her eyes glancing towards the white meat longingly. She choked down the tears threatening to bubble over and grabbed the sides of her linens.
He clicked his tongue. "Don't just nod...." The boy grumbled and walked over to her piece of meat, stomping on it, and digging it into the ground with the heel of his shoe.
The display was enough. It had provoked the reaction the boy wanted. Warm tears dripped down Cattleya's cheeks.
He laughed and bumped his shoulder against hers as he walked past, heading towards the church she'd just left.
After he was gone, she knelt next to the food, frowning down at it. Her heart sank in her chest, throbbing with loss. It was much too dirty for any reasonable person to eat it now, but her stomach grumbled.
She reached out her hand.
A new hand grabbed her wrist, the voice of a teenage boy reaching her ears. "Don't. You will kill any shred of dignity you have."
Cattleya turned her head up towards him, but her heart sank even further when she saw the crest of a noble house. His clothes have too much color in them...
She pulled her hand free and stepped away from him.
He stepped closer and unfurled a piece of cloth he'd pulled out of his pocket. Steam rose from yet another piece of fresh meat. "Tell me your name, and I will give you this."
The girl looked towards the meat in astonishment. This one actually bore seasoning. Cooked meat was one thing, but cooked meat that was also seasoned was another. The smell was intoxicating, and all of the heart break from earlier was being forgotten.
"Cattleya," she said hesitantly.
"Cattleya." He repeated her name, handing it over as promised. "I am the heir of the Count Hemrich household."
Her ears only twitched slightly, half listening while she dug into the meal. It was unlike anything she'd ever tasted, but she didn't want to savor it after what had happened only a few minutes earlier. She scarfed it down as fast as she could.
The heir grinned and chuckled. "There is more where that came from if you become a servant in my house."
Cattleya wrinkled her brow and stared at him in confusion. Why?
The silent question was understood by the teenager. He crossed his arms and examined her. "I saw what you did before, and I have occasionally observed you. Forgive me for not helping, but I am willing to help you now. You are gifted..." He watched the way panic set in and grabbed onto her shoulders. "Like I said, I already saw. If you follow me, you will never be hungry again..."